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Simple, yet Powerful, Leafy Wisdom

As we enter the city of Dengfeng, Henan in China, we are instructed to follow our spirits towards the famed Pagoda Forest in the hopes that we will stumble across what our hearts desire. Through my personal experience, while exploring what Green Tea could do for me and my health, I have discovered many previously unknown facts about how powerful this simple leaf can be.

As far back as 464 AD, the Sensi Masters of the Shaolin Monastery in China knew the fragile physical aspect of a clean body in the search for enlightenment. The Shaolin Monastery in China has been a mass monument through the centuries for young men and women of the Buddhist faith searching for full enlightenment of the soul. Although most westerners associate the term “enlightenment” with an open mind, the great Sensi (or [martial arts] Masters) knew that enlightenment encompassed the physical as well. With this great wisdom and understanding of anatomy and inner bodily solitude, they instituted the application of Green Tea, a popular drink today.

Were these mystical masters relying only on ancestral knowledge? Or is there a solid scientific reason why we should take notice of the daily practice of drinking this light beverage?

Since the New Age boom of the last 20 to 30 years, there has been an influx in home remedies, potions, and explosions of information regarding eastern and esoterically-endowed health “secrets”. Mass distribution of information across the internet, books, and conferences seem to promise one thing: The Key to Happiness. This ultimately is a wonderful ambition if one isn’t seeking money or fame. And so the true seeker always finds himself seeing through the fog of overstated promises and colorfully-hyped products.

Through this, there is a simpler realization. This realization comes from stripping away the lights and big screens and coming back to the origins of why the ancient master saw so much power in a little green leaf.

As we explore how green tea can affect not just our health but our day to day life, we realize that there is more to this simple act of drinking tea than we might have first thought. According to Dr. Oguni of the University of Shizuoka – Hamamtsu College, Japan, the research proves time and time again how important Green Tea can be. In Dr. Oguni’s paper “Japanese Green Tea – Health Benefits” published in late 2009, Oguni outlines scientific data regarding Green Tea. In the paper we see that Green Tea contains Catechin, a substance that prevents food poisoning, suppresses plaque build-up, prevents build-up of blood cholesterol, suppresses angiotensin II (stress), and lowers blood sugar. Furthermore, Dr. Oguni finds that Greet Tea strengthens T-Cells, and B-Cells which spur macrophages. This means that one B-cell can produce many thousands of antibodies for immune support, rather than leaving the B-Cells to their own defenses in an oncoming attach from a foreign invader. An interesting find in the book; “Green Tea – The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life” by Dr. Nadine Taylor, (M.S., R.D.) reveals even more exciting evidence. Dr. Taylor produces these findings: Green tea is a carrier of Alkylamines, which are also bacteria. This implies that by consuming a fair amount of green tea you can “prime” yourself with good bacteria. Also, Taylor states that by including a well-rounded dose of green tea into one’s diet you can increase your immune response (due to the priming with good bacteria as mentioned previously) up to 5 times the normal immune response. Further information regarding the tea in the book is addressed. For example, the tea acts as a workout machine for the immune system, it affects many body functions from helping skin rejuvenation to reducing the risk of heart attacks by as much as 50%.

So, for the species Camellia Singis or Green Tea, we find through the scientific method that there is a vast possibility that the ancient masters were on to something.

I have asked my peers for their input. How did they feel after a regular regimen of green tea? Everyone I have spoken to claims the same: clarity, focus, and energy stems from drinking green tea on a daily basis. All of t his information may leave you shocked, or maybe you already knew it. But in the conclusion of things, and in the spirit of the Pagoda Forest, in China, we may want to take notice of the things our elders suggest and have suggested as far back as 464AD.